Colorado Drops Two; Wings Edged; K-Hawks Down Rock

The fourth quarter was a constant battle. Philadelphia knotted things up at nine with seven minutes to go before Minnesota countered with two late goals in the final four minutes. Philadelphia made the final minute interesting cutting the lead to one and tried to sink one final shot into the net. The Swarm stopped the chances of a late comeback by the Wings.

"We have to turn the page and not dwell on today's loss," said Wings Captain Brodie Merrill. "We have to be resilient and focus on the next game as we travel to Minnesota."

Forwards Ryan Ward and Jordan Hall combined for 13 of the Wings 30 points on the night. Hall recorded his second hat trick of the season and third multi-goal game. Forward Kyle Buchanan kept his scoring streak alive with one goal and two assists. Buchanan has had a goal in four consecutive games.

The Swarm were led to their first win of the season by Transition Player Jordan MacIntosh and Forward Callum Crawford. They combined for 10 of the team's 27 points. MacIntosh also contributed with 14 face-off wins on the evening.

Following this weekend's two games, Philadelphia will enter a bye week during week five before resuming play on Saturday, February 1 vs. the Vancouver Stealth at the Wells Fargo Center at 7:30 p.m.

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PHILADELPHIA – The National Lacrosse League's (NLL) Minnesota Swarm used a pair of timely fourth quarter goals to withstand a late rally by the Philadelphia Wings en route to earning a thrilling 11-10 victory on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

After a pair of Philadelphia goals erased a 9-7 Swarm advantage in the fourth quarter, the Swarm captain T Andrew Suitor put his team back on top when he benefitted from a turnover behind the Wings' net caused by F Shayne Jackson. Jackson stripped the ball from Philadelphia netminder Evan Kirk and set up Suitor for the finish and the lead at 9:43. Transition player Kiel Matisz gave Minnesota some breathing room when he tallied his second of the day on the man-advantage two minutes later.

Matisz's goal became the game-winner after Philadelphia F Jordan Hall cut the deficit to one, beating Minnesota G Zach Higgins with just over a minute remaining, setting up a last-second defensive stand that clinched the win for Minnesota. Coach Joe Sullivan lauded his squad's effort and determination in the victory, while adding that he was not in any way surprised to see it.

"We knew this [performance] would come it was just a matter of time," Sullivan explained. "The guys persevered and showed the kind of character we knew they had. Where they fell short in games past they didn't tonight."

The 11-goal performance was an awakening of sorts for a Swarm offense that struggled to produce through their first two games. Transition player Jordan MacIntosh (2g, 3a) and F Callum Crawford (1g, 4a) led the way with five points apiece, while F Josh Gillam had a four-point night tacking on a couple of assists to a pair of power play goals. Suitor and MacIntosh each posted a game-high nine loose balls on the defensive side of the scoresheet.

Matisz added another goal and an assist to his game-deciding goal, and rookie F Logan Schuss scored his second and third goals of the season after pouring a game-high 10 shots-on-net.

The Minnesota defense, although giving up a season-high 10 goals and 47 shots, played solid when it needed to be, led by the stellar play of Higgins in net, making his NLL debut. Higgins entered the game after starting netminder Tyler Carlson was pulled 3:03 into the game, after Philadelphia roared to a 3-0 lead on 11 shots. Higgins backstopped the Swarm the rest of the way, turning aside 29 shots including several key stops on Wings' odd-man rushes and power plays.